July 9, 2003
Senators Warner and Allen and Representative Moran
Senators Warner and Allen and Representative Moran
PO Box 8208
Alexandria, VA 22306-8208
July 9, 2003
The Honorable John William Warner
United States Senate
225 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510-4601
The Honorable George F. Allen
United States Senate
204 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510-4604
The Honorable James P. Moran
U.S House of Representatives
2239 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515-4608
Dear Senators Warner and Allen and Representative Moran:
As your constituent, I urge you to support corrections to the USA PATRIOT Act, investigative guidelines and other government actions that threaten civil liberties. Congress must act to ensure government powers are in line with the guarantees of the Bill of Rights.
I have learned that government agents can now use a special intelligence court to obtain many types of my personal records — educational, medical, financial, sales, library, etc. — even if they have no probable cause of a crime. I didn’t give six years of active duty service to Country and Corps (including the Gulf War in 1991) to find myself living in a police state in 2003. In fact, the PATRIOT Act prohibits the holders of that information, such as librarians, from disclosing that these records were obtained.
I have also read that the PATRIOT Act allows law enforcement agents to conduct secret “sneak and peek” searches of my home. Investigators can enter my home or office, take pictures and seize items without informing me that a warrant was issued for a very long time – if ever.
It worries me that the PATRIOT Act and changes to government investigative guidelines permit a vast array of information on U.S. citizens to be collected and shared with the CIA (and other non-law enforcement officials) without proper judicial oversight or other safeguards. This law effectively puts the CIA back in the business of spying on Americans.
Of course, we should provide law enforcement with the necessary tools to fight terrorism, but the USA PATRIOT Act and related government actions also gave the government many new powers that go beyond the fight against terrorism. Some parts of the USA PATRIOT Act and other actions take away checks on law enforcement and threaten the very rights and freedoms that we are waging the war on terror to protect.
Once again, I urge you to do the right thing and support corrections to the USA PATRIOT Act and other government actions. We need to to ensure government powers adhere to the Bill of Rights. By not supporting these corrections you will indeed be selling out the very principles that so many men and women have died to protect. Do not dishonor their sacrifice by protecting, aiding and abetting the establishment of a police state.
I look forward to hearing your thoughts on this matter.
Sincerely,
James Landrith
July 30, 2003
Mr. James Landrith
P.O. Box 8208
Alexandria, Virginia 22306-8208
Dear Mr. Landrith:
Thank you for contacting me to share your views about personal privacy and proposals to expand upon the USA Patriot Act. I appreciate your comments and welcome the benefit of your views.
While hearings have been held to discuss whether additional law enforcement tools are necessary in the prosecution of terrorism or potential terrorist activities, the full Senate has not yet reviewed the Domestic Security Enhancement Act. Please be assured that I am actively involved in all legislative efforts relating to terrorism and will continue to work to ensure that any legislation on this important matter is fair and within the confines established by the U.S. Constitution.
In my view, any legislation that provides law enforcement with additional tools to combat terrorism must be balanced. On the one hand, changes in the law must be real and more than simply illusory. A measured, targeted enhancement in law enforcement’s authority to combat terrorism is long overdue. The fact is that many of our criminal laws were enacted years before innovations of modern technology such as email, cell phones, and instant messaging. These laws must be updated.
On the other hand, any changes in the law must not infringe upon the rig guaranteed in the Constitution. This great document has served as the foundation of this country, and our democracy, for over 200 years. Therefore, it is imperative that any legislation passed to combat domestic terrorism does not trespass on the individual rights guaranteed in our Constitution – rights that make America the greatest nation in the world.
In related matters, as a result of the September 11th terrorist attacks, President Bush, Attorney General Ashcroft, and members of Congress have worked in a bipartisan fashion to produce legislation to help law enforcement prevent additional acts of terrorism and to help law enforcement bring terrorists to justice.
In an effort to enhance law enforcement’s ability to combat domestic terrorism, the Senate passed H.R.3162, the Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act of 2001 (USA Patriot Act), by a vote of 98 to 1, with my support. President Bush signed this bill into law on October 26, 2001. Some key provisions of this legislation include: updated electronic surveillance ability for law enforcement; increased border security on the northern border; money laundering measures to help break up terrorist financial networks; enhanced information sharing; increased criminal penalties for terrorism; allowing the Attorney General to detain suspected alien terrorists without a formal charge for up to seven days; and requiring the Attorney General to report to Congress on the feasibility of enhancing the integrated automated fingerprint identification system.
In my view, the USA Patriot Act strikes the right balance by providing law enforcement with new and updated tools to fight terrorism while fitting these measures well within the bounds of the Constitution.
Again, thank you for the benefit of your views. I very much appreciate your views and will be sure to keep them in mind should legislation relating to the issues mentioned in your letter come before the full Şenate.
With kind regards, I am
Sincerely,
John Warner
JW/jsf